According to S Madhusudhan, senior vice-president, marketing, Manipal Group, "This was a closely-contested pitch, which had around 13 agencies, including O&M, Lowe, Contract, Canco, Brand-comm and Orchard Advertising, among others."

"The final competition was among O&M, Lowe and Grey Worldwide, who were selected for the final round of review."

The media duties have still not been decided.

The ad spend for the in-site campus division in India is yet to be finalised, but globally, this figure is said to be around Rs 20 crore.

Madhusudhan remarks, "Grey Worldwide surged ahead of the other agencies in the final round of the pitch, as it presented a complete, integrated approach. It also displayed a high level of commitment, and a deep understanding of the brand and the education category as a whole."

Adds Sanjay Menon, associate vice-president and regional creative director, Grey Worldwide, Bangalore, "We got a focused and clear brief from the client. The communication objective before us is to position the Manipal Group not just as another educational institute, but put it in the same league as the IIMs. We need to popularise its vision, the width and depth of Manipal Group's educational institutes, the courses offered, and also, bring out interesting facts about the group, such as bringing out the fact that it is probably one of the rare institutes to have the highest number of international students."

He adds, "The education category itself is quite different from other categories, and we feel we will gain rich experience while working on this account."

The media mix for the communication in India will involve press, outdoor, below-the-line activities, direct marketing, and the Internet.

The Manipal Group also plans to call for a pitch for its other divisions: healthcare and distance education. Details on the same are expected in a couple of days.

For the record, the Manipal Group has a network spread over 19 countries, including locations such as the Middle East, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, the US, the UK and Malaysia, among others.